Reclaimed Hardwood Flooring – What is It, Why Use it and Where to Buy It?

Reclaimed Hardwood Flooring – What is It, Why Use it and Where to Buy It?By Tim Phelan

If you are looking into buying wood flooring, you probably have come across the term “reclaimed wood” and may be wondering what exactly does this mean. This simply means that the wood material has been used previously and was discarded or not needed anymore. In the past, usually when a wooden structure wasn’t needed anymore it was just disposed of to a landfill dump or perhaps burned. This is an unfortunate way to deal with wooden materials that come from structures that are being remodeled or demolished. These older woods many times can be reused by milling, refinishing or sanding.

As people have become more aware of environmental concerns such as deforestation, the practice of reclaiming wood has become more popular. Reclaiming hardwood flooring materials has many advantages such as : reusing old growth woods that are valuable and rare, reducing deforestation, reduce harm to environments from logging, reducing solid waste and offering economical alternatives to new wood materials. Perhaps the best reason to reuse wood is that it just doesn’t make sense to throw away beautiful wood material that took so long to grow. Recycling wood just makes sense and people love it’s appearance.

Reclaimed flooring can come from different types of wood products. It doesn’t just have to come from old wood flooring, although that is one of the most popular sources. It can also come from old barns, wine barrels, water towers, bridges, homes, wharfs, docks, schools etc… On the outside the wood of these materials may not look like something you would want to use on your floors, but that is deceptive. For example if you take a thick piece of a large oak beam that is cracked and splintered on the out side, you will find by milling it into smaller pieces the inside looks fresh and beautiful without the wear and tear of the sun, wind and water.

Finding reclaimed hardwood flooring material may not be as simple as going to your local large building supply franchise. Usually these types of businesses won’t carry these reclaimed products. The best way to find a company that specializes in flooring and specifically has experience in these materials. With a little bit of searching online you can find someone in your area who can help you.